Never and Always
by Gyongyi McIan
Summary: **Chapter 8** Fred and Gunn, with nowhere left to turn, travel to Sunnydale to visit the Slayerettes. The search for Cordelia and Angel is on. (B/S, F/G, Wes/Li, A/C, Da/Con; F/s implied)
1. Chapter One

Spoilers: Angel through the end of Season 3, and Buffy through the end of Season 6. (Warning: I may not portray past events nearing the end of Season 6 of Buffy completely accurately since I only saw the summaries and spoilers, not the episodes. I basically kept what I liked out of what I heard.)  
  
Disclaimers: They're not mine.  
  
  
  
Chapter One  
  
The lobby was as silent and dismal as it's two occupants. Even after following up on every lead, no matter how worthless, they still had nothing Gunn had even chanced the Furies to gain any available information on the whereabouts of Cordelia and Angel, but even that appeared to have been futile. Currently without any friends with known whereabouts beyond the room they currently occupied, Gunn and Fred were distraught.  
  
"Maybe we could try The Host?" Fred's questioning voice broke through the silence with.  
  
"The dude's been in Vegas for a month. Probably forgot about us and set up a bigger and better Caritas," was the curt reply she received. Gunn sighed and continued, "I don't know if we should keep Angel Investigations open any more…."  
  
"Charles!"  
  
"No, no, hear me out-"  
  
"I'd rather not."  
  
Gunn and Fred turned to gawk at the new addition to their disheartened group. A man, clad in a black t- shirt and a pair of black dress pants had entered the lobby. He looked down at the pair with disdain. Setting an expensive black briefcase on the former check in counter, he opened it and removed a large manila envelope. He tossed it down on the floor, and it slid until it stopped by colliding with Fred's left foot. She reached down for it, but Gunn stopped her with a look and a hand upon her upper arm.  
  
"Oh, I assure you it is very safe. Why would I bother to come here without Lilah's bodyguards if I had Wolfram and Hart's best interests in mind?" He smirked, carefully watching Fred watch him while slowing retrieving the envelope from the floor.  
  
"What's this all about, English?"  
  
Wesley scoffed. Closing his briefcase, he slid it off the counter and paced slowly to the door. "You're Welcome," were his only words as the Englishman let himself out of the hotel.  
  
Gunn and Fred just looked at one another in shock.  
  
"Charles… we need to do something. The Hyperian has been so empty since Angel and Cordy… and Conner… went missing." Fred began to pace as her babbling became more rapid. "I - I think we need to go to Sunnydale, Charles. They might know how to find them. They brought –"  
  
"Fred –"  
  
"CHARLES! Just listen! They brought that girl…the slayer, Buffy, back from the dead, I'm sure that they –"  
  
"No, Fred –"  
  
"I'm sure that they could help us find them!"  
  
"I AGREE, FRED!"  
  
Fred suddenly halted and spun around, throwing her arms around him. Grinning, she began to pull him upstairs with her, "I just got to get a few things from upstairs and I'll be ready… do you know where Angel keeps the spare keys? You could make a sign for the door and –"  
  
"I got it girl. Get your stuff."  
  
Needing no further encouragement, Fred ran up the stairs to her room as Gunn walked towards the desk.  
  
**  
  
"'Ello? Anyone home? Watcher! Lil'bit? Bloody hell."  
  
"Well isn't this just your neighborhood disaster zone?"  
  
"Shut the hell up you soddin' green… thing."  
  
"Be nice, hun, your aura's all over the place," the being standing beside the souled vampire put a hand to his forehead. "It's giving me a headache."  
  
Spike frowned at the disaster before him. The room was in shambles. Broken magical supplies lay broken throughout the room. Chairs, tables, even the cash register, were forgotten and destroyed beyond repair in the store. Turning, he began to walk towards the only other place he knew they gathered at: the slayer's house.  
  
Retrieving his small bag as he trotted out the door, Lorne stared at his retreating form. The green demon signed, and followed the vampire into the night, only to stop as he rounded the corner, bumping into the leather duster that adorned Spike's body. Lorne watched in amusement as Spike sniffed at the air before dropping his bag and running off into the night.  
  
"Oh I wonder, wonder, wonder who," the demon leaned against the alley wall and began to sing, "Who wrote the book of love! Tell me tell me darlin' who –"  
  
"Who the hell are you?" came the voice, piercing his thoughts.  
  
Turning, Lorne saw an Englishman of about fifty standing at the end the alley with a crossbow aimed at his chest. All Lorne did was roll his eyes. Giles stared.  
  
"False alarm," Spike stared as he rounded the corner back towards Lorne, "it was only…" he continued, trailing off as he saw Giles with the crossbow. "Well this is just neat! Hello Watcher."  
  
"Spike. This…thing is with you?"  
  
"You'd better bet I am sweet-kins! Spike here looked me up when he was in Vegas; thought you folks would need a little help. Seemed that he was right," Lorne cut in, making the tenser, living, occupant of the alley jump and re-aim the crossbow to his chest. "I'm not here to hurt anyone, you can just set that crossbow down…" he tried, but giving the tactic up on seeing the expression on Giles's face. "You're aura's jumping all over the place. How's the little witch doing? Sorry about the loss."  
  
"How… what… who…" Giles stuttered, not knowing where to begin.  
  
"Ain't it just cool? This fella," Spike said, pointing at Lorne, "reads auras. Apparently he got a grip on whatever our little witch has been up to."  
  
"Well… uh… indeed."  
  
Spike began to walk towards the end of the alley. "You're all holed up the Slayer's house, right?" he said as the continued walking.  
  
"Well, yes…" was all Giles got out before Spike began walking.  
  
Lorne glanced at Spike's retreating back and turned towards Giles and sticking his right hand out. "Hey, I'm Lorne." 


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two  
  
Gunn stepped out of the cab of his beat up truck and considered the ruins lying before him. The shop was in shambles and it was obvious to anyone, inside or out. The sign, reading "Mag ox", was blackened with soot. With a quick glance into the night surrounding him, Gunn followed Fred towards the entrance to the store.  
  
They worked in silence. Fred investigated the cash register and searched behind the desk for either a clue or address - anything to help them find someone who knew what had happened to both the shop and it's former occupants. Gunn scouted the room and kept watch for anyone who would think that the two were easy targets for a late night snack. They didn't bother to light the darkened room - they saw that as a sure way to get killed. When he saw a pair of figures stealthily making their way towards the shop through the shadows, he waved an arm at Fred and pointed to the spare crossbow lying on the floor near her. She grabbed it and stepped up to the window beside him.  
  
As the pair got closer to the shop, Fred glanced at Gunn in confusion. "I don't think they're vampires." Taking another glance at the pair she continued, "they seem to be. fighting? No, arguing."  
  
"Shh girl, here they come."  
  
"I've told you Buffy, I think she needs to get out a little, see the sights, ya know, have a little fun to get her back into the swing of thngs." the young man said, trailing off as the he pushed the shop's door open, revealing Gunn with a crossbow aimed at his chest. ".and what the hell?"  
  
Buffy stepped into the room and was accosted by Fred's crossbow. "Whoa girlfriend," without looking at Xander she continued, "What the hell's up with the welcoming committee?"  
  
"You're Buffy?" was the shaky introduction that Fred made. She looked at Gunn, "You'd expect her to be a little taller, ya know?"  
  
"Alright, pause. Who the hell are the two of you?" She glanced at their crossbows and took a defensive stance. "Before I kick your asses that is."  
  
Fred slowly set her crossbow on the floor and raised her hands. "We don't mean any harm. It's just that with everything that's been going on we were kinda confused and didn't know what else to do and I know that this was kinda a last resort but -"  
  
"What the bird's trying to say is that we need your help."  
  
Buffy stood still, not knowing what to do about the pair before her. They seemed nice enough, other than the part about having no idea who they were. She looked at them suspiciously. "Need my help with what?"  
  
Fred and Gunn glanced at each other, not knowing how much to say, nor where to start. Fred cleared her throat a couple times before mumbling something incomprehensible. Buffy just raised an eyebrow at Fred's immediate interest in the floor. After sharing a look with Xander, she tried again. "Uh, the floor got some new tricks for us today, or were you going to say something just then."  
  
With a sudden burst of confidence, she looked Buffy straight in the eye and said, "Angel and Cordelia are missing," before pushing past the pair to flee to the truck parked outside the shop.  
  
Gunn shrugged at the pair before following Fred back to his truck.  
  
"Hey girl," he started, trying to get her to look at them. I think they should know the whole story."  
  
"This was definently a bad idea. They don't want to help us."  
  
"Because they don't know us. We could have gone to Vegas and sung for Lorne but that -"  
  
"Lorne?" came a hesitant voice from behind them. Gunn and Fred turned to see that Buffy and Xander had left the shop to follow them. Buffy continued, "About six foot tall green guy with some red horns?"  
  
"You know Lorne?" Gunn asked incredulously.  
  
"Yeah. Well, no. Kinda? Giles met him with Spike. Took him back to my place. I'd take you guys there myself, but silly me, I still want to know who the hell you are."  
  
"I'm Fred. Winifred actually but everyone just calls me Fred."  
  
"Gunn," said Gunn, nodding his head towards the pair.  
  
"A gun? Where?" Xander turned, eyes darting frantically around the abandoned street, searching for a gun. He ducked a little and waved an arm around his face before pausing. "I don't see any guns."  
  
"No, no, no, his name is Charles Gunn."  
  
"Two 'N's'."  
  
"Oh." Xander looked down and scuffed his shoe against the pavement. "I'm just going to go and talk to that wall over there. Shout if you need me," Xander said, embarrassed at his lack of understanding.  
  
Gunn grinned at this then said, "We worked with Angel and Cordy. Care to take us to see Lorne yet?"  
  
Buffy nodded. With a shout to Xander, she turned and took a step before Gunn stopped her. "Uh. how bout a ride?" Smiling, Buffy nodded, and climbed into the cab of the truck with Fred and Gunn.  
  
Xander knocked on the driver's side window as Gunn started the engine. "Where am I supposed to ride?" Gunn glanced at Xander, the road, then turned back to Xander and grinned. Rolling his eyes, Xander turned and jumped into the back of the truck. "Right," he mumbled as the trucked pulled out and turned down the road.  
  
**  
  
Lorne jumped to his feet as Buffy and Xander entered the cozy living room. When he glaced at the pair he heard Xander humming and instinctively looked behind them to see Gunn and Fred walk into the room. Fred's face immediately lit up when she saw the firmiliar green demon.  
  
"Lorne!" she exclaimed as she threw herself into his open arms. "It's so good to see you! I thought you went to Vegas to sing and read at some club after you closed Caritas!"  
  
"Did, sweets. Spike came in one day and I read his aura. Saw some pretty major mojo going on there and came back to good ol' Sunnyhell with him. Now, let's try not to tell the strangers my full life story, kay?"  
  
"Sorry. I do get carried away." Glancing around the room, she felt apprehensive towards all of the people present. Raising her left hand and giving a shy wave, she hesitantly announced, "Hi folks. I'm Fred."  
  
Suddenly entering the room, Giles barley looked at Fred as he ansered her decaration. "And I'm Miss Molly. You do realize that we do have our own problems."  
  
"Well. uh. yes sir, but we were hoping. well, we wanted your guys's help. Ya see, Angel and Cordelia are missing and we know you knew them, so we just thought that ya'll might be willing to help us find them, but if you don't -"  
  
"There's no buts about it toots. They're gonna help." Lorne's sudden announcement threw everyone in the room. Glancing around between the angry and startled faces, he continued, "I can see it in your auras, because some of ya were humming away awhile ago. You're not going to let this chance pass you by. Don't you at least want to hear what's been stirred up down in the City of Angels?"  
  
"Well. indeed." Giles removed his glasses and wiped them on his shirt. No one made a sound. "Please, do go on, Miss. Fred."  
  
"Thanks," Fred grinned looked at the people in the room. "Let's just stick to the basics for now. All we know is that Angel was on his way to meet Cordy when we last saw him. They were gonna go meet at Point Dume to talk, and that's the last we heard. Cordy's car was found abandoned on the highway, but there was no other sign of them for the past month. We've tried everything."  
  
"Wait. I thought Wesley worked with you guys too," came a questioning voice from the bottom of the stairs.  
  
"Dawn, go back upstairs."  
  
"Naw, let Niblet stay. Come on girl, come sit by Uncle Spike," chirped an unnaturally perky voice from the back of the room.  
  
"Spike -"  
  
"I think she's old enough to hear this, Buffy."  
  
"Alrighty then. Now that we've got all of our be nice to the vamp issues covered, we can go back to what the hell's been going on in LA. As for Wes. English had a falling out with Angel Investigations. Don't speak of it often. We do know that he's still out there, alive and kicking, so do be worrying your pretty little heads about ol' Wes." Gunn surveyed the group set before him and sighed. It was going to be a long night.  
  
Unbeknownst to the group, Fred slipped out of the house and back into the night, being suddenly reminded of Wesley's envelope. Sneaking Gunn's car keys from his pocket while he was absorbed in his tale about Cordy and Angel's whereabouts had been easy, while escaping from the room hadn't. Glancing back at the house behind her, Fred wasn't expecting to collide with the vampire when she did. She scrambled backwards, trying not to inform the occupants of the house of her current whereabouts while escaping the vampire.  
  
"Hello birdie. What the hell's a gal like you doing leaving that nice safe house with the slayer an' all?"  
  
"Get out of my way Spike," she mumbled as the brushed past him and tried to quickly unlock the passenger's side door to the truck. "Dammit," she hissed as the keys fell. Purposely ignoring Spike and the smirk on his face was her only goal at the moment, and she inadvertently knocked her head against the door as she bent down to pick the keys up off the cement.  
  
After unlocking the door, she stepped into the cab of the truck and unlocked the glove compartment. Glancing at Spike's still form, which stood about three feet from the passenger door, Fred pulled the manila envelope from the mess. After running a finger beneath the seal to open it, the contents slid out of the envelope and onto her lap. She was too entranced by the sigh to notice Spike advance on the truck until he yanked the door open. She barely saw the inquisitive vampire as she ran a finger down the spine of the leather-bound book in her lap. Spike glanced momentarily at the book, then reached for the seemingly ancient scroll that was also sitting on her lap. Fred tried to grab the scroll out of his hand, but her reaction was no match for his vampire speed.  
  
Spike slid easily into the cab next to Fred and shut the door softly behind him, locking it as he did so. While Fred examined the book, he carefully slid the aged parchment of the scroll open.  
  
"What's that?" she cautiously asked, leaning over to get a better look.  
  
"Prophecy. Can't read it, but I recognize it. I think it's called the Dewy Scroll or something. Can't remember the name properly. Watcher in there probably knows, you should ask -"  
  
"No! I mean, no, no one can know about this."  
  
"Where did you get these?" he asked her, looking in closely at her face and indicating the book and scroll.  
  
"Wesley dropped them by the Hyperion before we left. We want to keep them to ourselves for as long as possible, partially because the reasons why he left were very. personal, and partially because we're not sure of his intentions. Hey, why havn't you tried to eat me or something yet?"  
  
"That's another bed time story. I'll keep your little secret - for now. Got that girl?"  
  
She nodded. "Thank you."  
  
"Let's go back inside then, shall we?"  
  
With one last glance at the book and scroll, Fred stuffed them into the envelope and pushed it back into the glove compartment. Stepping out of the truck and back into the warm summer night, she inhaled deeply, and savored the sweetness of the night. When she noticed Spike giving her a questioning look, she answered with a smile, "No smog. It's kinda like Pylea. no smog and full of hell beasts. 'Cept I'm not a slave here." With that simple statement, she slipped unnoticed back into the house, leaving a very confused vampire to ponder her parting words on the walkway. Shaking his head, Spike followed the girl back into the house in time to hear the tale end of Gunn's narrative concerning his grandsire and the former May Queen. 


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
Angel inhaled deeply. He felt the tang of the salty sea air and the warmth of the sunlight on his back. Upon opening his eyes, Angel saw a redheaded girl in white walking some length down the beach. She was wearing a simple long white dress, which sparkled whenever the sunlight hit it. He watched her as she sat down and held her legs to her chest and looked out at the sea. With a glance in his direction, Angel had a sudden recognition.  
  
"Willow!"  
  
The girl was startled, and stood as she saw the young looking man running towards her down the length of the beach. She stared at him, stunned.  
  
"Angel? What are you doing here? In the sunlight even!" Willow backed away from him slightly, not knowing what to do about his sudden appearance in broad daylight. She looked down, away from him, as she continued, "I thought I was dreaming."  
  
With a glance down at his appearance, Angel turned back to her. "You are dreaming. He betrayed me but I love him. Where is she? She never came." Angel sat, staring at the ocean as he continued to babble mindlessly, confusing Willow. "I don't know where she is, I couldn't find her. Why can't I ever protect her? He betrayed me but I love him still."  
  
"Angel?"  
  
"Willow? Why can't I protect them? They're all I have and he's all grown up now. She never came. Was she lost? She gave me directions. Was I lost? She couldn't have left me."  
  
The distraught vampire was rocking on the beach now, while the redheaded girl stood slightly to his left, looking out at the ocean. She didn't understand why he was acting this way, being so incoherent. As she stared at his form the sky darkened, causing her to glance upwards. Blinking from the sudden rain, she reopened her eyes to see that she was standing on a ship. Willow turned around and gasped in horror. She saw a teenager and a young woman standing before a metal cage. Unable to hear them, she took a step foreword. Her eyes widened as she saw Angel in the box, pleading with the pair to let him go.  
  
"You're still my son," she heard. She didn't understand. When did Angel have a son? Was it even possible? Her thoughts, however, abruptly halted as the saw the boy seal the box and help the woman dump it into the ocean. Willow closed her eyes again in an attempt to refocus, but when she reopened them the boat was gone and she was back on the shore, watching Angel's curled form rock as he mumbled incoherently to himself.  
  
Squatting beside him, Willow tried to put a hand on his forehead. "Angel?" she tried, "Can you hear me?"  
  
Abruptly the vampire stood, causing Willow to fall backwards into the warm sand. After untwisting the skirt that had become wound around her legs, the girl took off after his determined walk. Angel didn't pause when he reached the water, continuing with his swift pace. Willow ran after him, even standing in front of him to try to slow him down and get some sort of a response from him, but his only reaction was the gently push her off to the side and continue onwards, into the ocean.  
  
When the water reached her waist, Willow stopped following and looked out after him. "Angel!" she cried in an attempt to halt his movements. "ANGEL!"  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
"ANGEL!"  
  
While most of the group sitting in the living room was startled to hear the strangled cry from above, Buffy jumped into action at the sound. Rushing past everyone, she darted up the stairs at a rate that even Spike couldn't keep up with. Fred and Gunn also jumped to their feet and rushed up the stairs, but only Fred managed to reach the landing before Gunn was pulled back by Xander's strong arm. At Gunn's outraged look, Xander released his shirt and gestured to the couch, on which the both sat in Buffy and Fred's vacated positions.  
  
"What the hell was that?"  
  
"That was Willow. She's another-"  
  
"Willow, as in that chick that came to tell Angel about Buffy's death 'bout a year ago? That Willow?"  
  
"One and only. She got into some dark magic. Long story. She's recovering now, kinda like a drug addict. Not that I'm comparing her to a drug addict, but she sorta was. Only with magic."  
  
"Yeah, Fred and I had our own little run in with dark magic. That was awhile ago though, when Angel and Cordy were still with us."  
  
"Huh. Anyways, I don't think it's good for too many people to go up there."  
  
"I hear ya man, but-"  
  
Gunn was cut off by the sudden appearance of Spike at the bottom of the stairs. He looked around the assembled group for a moment with a stern expression on his face before Dawn couldn't stand the silence. She rushed up to Spike's side and opened her mouth to speak, but Spike silenced her with a finger over her lips. Closing her mouth, she looked up at him in confusion. He looked past her and spotted Gunn and Lorne. Looking at the pair he stated four quick words before turning and retreating back up the stairs.  
  
"She had a dream."  
  
Gunn and Lorne glanced at one another before running up the stairs after him. Reaching that point they quickly darted into the room currently occupied with Buffy, Fred, and Willow. Tears were streaming down the redhead's face as she retold her dream to the five extra members of the room.  
  
After a moment of stunned silence following the conclusion of Willow's tale, Buffy was the first to speak. "He just walked off? Into the water?"  
  
Willow nodded, unable to take her eyes away from her hands. "It was awful."  
  
Fred jumped in next. "What I'm more interested in was his babble. You said it sounded incoherent and he said something about 'him betraying me', right? Also something else about 'she never came'? May he was talking about Cordy! Just on the last part of course cause she's not a him, obviously." she trailed off, mumbling to herself. The Spike and Buffy merely looked at the girl in confusion, not understanding the babble. Gunn on the other hand, seemed to be considering it.  
  
"You may be right gal. He was gonna meet her at a beach- Point Dume. Whatever happened to her prolly was before she got there. There goes the idea that they're together. Huh." Shaking his head, Gunn looked back down at the crying girl. "Remember anything else that sounded like nonsense?"  
  
"Something about a son and betrayal? When I saw them putting him into that metal box thing there were two people," she answered, reverting back into her catatonic state at the end of her spiel.  
  
"Conner did this? No way!"  
  
Buffy jumped in. "Wait, wait, wait! Son? Who's son? What's going on? I think it's about time that we get filled in on everything that's been going on!" She seemed to have gotten more and more agitated as her tirade continued, but slumped back over into her chair when she concluded, "Why are we talking about Angel having a son?"  
  
Fred and Gunn glanced at each other, unsure of how much information they should give the small group assembled before them. Fred sighed and looked down. They had even seemed to peak Willow's interest, which had seemed before to prove close to impossible to accomplish.  
  
Lorne, silent up to this point, chose that moment to enter into the conversation. "This isn't information that you need to find him. Judging from Willow's dream Angelcakes is alive and we'll be able to unearth the lug. When we get to him we'll deal with this son business. It's not really our place to tell you unnecessary information. Sorry toots."  
  
Fred smiled at the demon, and mouthed a silent 'thank you' to him. He simply smiled softly and nodded his head back towards her. The interaction only lasted a second, but the silence in the room lasted a full moment before Gunn slowly got to his feet from his kneeling position beside Willow's bed.  
  
"Let's get us some vampire ass then." 


	4. Chapter Four

A/N: I'm going to pretend that Cordy's hair is still short and dark because I hate it when dark hair is dyed blond. Drives me crazy. Just because some blondes can pull off dark colors doesn't mean some dark haired chicks can pull off light colors. I still love her though. : )  
  
(I wrote the beginning of that note at 2 am and started to rant about hair colors at about 4 am when I was still up writing this chapter. Go figure. The characters started to get chatty and so I sat and typed.)  
  
Chapter Four  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
Everyone present in the Summers' full battle mode. Maps and books were scattered upon every available surface in the dining room, while weapons lay scattered about the small living room as their owners prepared them. A blowtorch sat auspiciously alone upon the coffee table in front of the couch as Xander and Gunn leaned over to inspect it. Dawn, eager to help, had been put in front a map as far away from any weapons as Buffy could manage while the Slayer helped to compile the weapons in the living room with Spike. Fred was off to the side typing on her laptop to gain any available information on the depth and topography of the sea bottom near Point Dume. Giles, who had been interested in Lorne's identity since his arrival earlier that evening, was off with the demon questioning him in a corner. Willow, having been unable or unwilling to communicate any further after her disturbing dream had returned to her fitful sleep upstairs.  
  
Spike glanced up from where he lay on the floor beside Buffy and their arsenal. After a moment he jumped to his feet and began to systematically close the curtains around the crowded house. Dawn, spotting his movement, also stood and began to make her way to the windows in the dining room. Buffy's glare, however, was quick to return her to her seat. Seeing his movement, Giles glanced at his watch in confusion.  
  
"Sunrise is about five minutes away. We're going to have to delay this expedition until tonight. Dawn, Fred, do you two have an idea of where to start looking?"  
  
"Yea Giles, we're cool, right Fred."  
  
"Yup! I think I have an idea of the general area that Angel will be in considering the distances that Willow gave when she told us about her dream."  
  
Lorne nodded. "I think that since we've got this under wraps we should all lay down for a little shut eye. You wouldn't see this many dark eyes in Caritas. Well, you might, considering the genetics of some of the demons that frequented the place before it got blown up," he said, directing a glare towards Gunn and Fred.  
  
Buffy stood, intent on getting everyone's sleeping arrangements together. "Alright. Giles, Xander, were you guys going to head back to your apartments?"  
  
The both nodded, causing the blonde to sigh in contentment. "Good. Okay-" she started, but stopped when she saw Spike heading up the stairs. "Where do you think you're going?"  
  
"Bunkin' up with you."  
  
"Spike-" she started, but realized it was too late as he disappeared from view. "Okay. Next. um."  
  
"Hey, Fred! You can stay in my room and we can talk and stuff!" Dawn's perky voice cut into Buffy's thoughts. At Fred's enthusiastic nod and Gunn's less enthusiastic frown Buffy smiled, glad that another of the pairings had been decided without her. Turning, she only had two bodies left to account for.  
  
Lorne waved her off when she turned towards him. "I'm going to stay on your couch, sweets. That is, if there are no blades swinging towards me?" At the groups apparent confusion he continued, "Well, that's settled. Now where's he staying?" and cocked his thumb towards Gunn's tense form.  
  
A response came from an unlikely source. "He can crash on my couch. We did cram a ton of demons and murderous relatives in there once upon a time."  
  
"Then we're set," was the last thing said by the group as the vestiges of dawn started to creep above the horizon, unseen by the group hidden behind the thick curtains.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~* ~  
  
Angel opened his eyes. It was dark, and even with his vampire sight he had a hard time adjusting them. He could feel the intense pressure of the depths surrounding him; if he'd been a human his eardrums would be permanently damaged by now. Sleeping was his only escape. He'd felt his thought process slipping away as time past. He had no concept of how long he'd been trapped in the box. Weakened from lack of food, he'd given up breaking out quite a while ago. As he slipped out of consciousness he smiled, thinking of his last conversation with Cordelia.  
  
He opened his eyes, standing on the shore in the sunlight. Enraptured by the feel of sunlight on his white skin, he stretched out his arms and looked upwards. He closed his eyes and spun around in place four times before he bumped into something. Angel stopped and opening his eyes again to look upon whatever he'd tripped over. He gasped in surprise when the sight registered.  
  
The young woman looked up at him and stood, giving him a beautiful wide grin in the process. "Thought I'd find ya here."  
  
The vampire just stood, staring at her. As suddenly as he'd seen her, he burst into tears and fell to his knees before her. Embracing her legs he started to sob, thankful to be near her, not knowing if the past month had been a dream or if he was going insane. She didn't seem as shocked as one would expect however, as if she'd already known about his condition. "Cordy. Cordy." he sobbed into the legs of her pants as she stroked his hair soothingly.  
  
"Shh. quite," she whispered to him, dropping to her knees and leaning back against her feet. She pushed him back as he attempted to continue his embrace. "You're dreaming."  
  
His tear stained face gazed towards her dry one. "Why? It hurts so much." his words turned to sobs and he tried to pull her too him again but fell into the sand when she pushed him back. "I don't know what's going on," he babbled, half his words coming out as sobs, "He hurt me and I still love him because he's my son. I just need to reach him. She came back; she didn't leave me. I still love him."  
  
"Angel," Cordelia called, lying herself down beside his prone form, "You need to concentrate. Listen to me, Angel." He looked up at her again. She took it as positive enforcement when he didn't break back down into tears, even though he continued to blink his wet eyes at her. "I'm trying to get someone here for you. You need to talk to him."  
  
"Willow was here. She must have been scared. I'm sorry Willow!" Cordelia winced as he yelled the last sentence out, rising to his feet and taking a few steps, continuing to yell, "I'm sorry Willow! So sorry." Angel fell back into the sand, tears raining from his eyes again.  
  
The brunette looked back down at the sand and shook her head. This was getting harder as the moments droned on, and there wasn't much time left. She got to her feet and took a few more steps and sat back down at his side, hugging her legs to her chest.  
  
"Angel, you need to get yourself together a little."  
  
"I'm okay."  
  
"No you're not, but we don't have much time left, so I'm going to have to accept that."  
  
"Where did Willow go by the way?"  
  
"I told you, you're dreaming. She woke up and got pulled away from the dream. Someone else is coming to see you though."  
  
"You're here. You're not someone else though, you're someone. I love you, Cordy. You don't know how much! I was going to tell you but then." he sniffled and looked down for a moment before bravely looking back at her like a child. "I'm okay."  
  
She nodded at him. When she closed her eyes for a moment, he looked at her, wondering if she'd fallen asleep, but not understanding how someone could fall asleep if they were already dreaming. He opened his mouth and managed to suck in a breath of air before her eyes popped back open and she smiled softly, looking out at the ocean. Stretching her legs out in front of her, she leaned back and waited.  
  
He fidgeted. Just as he thought he couldn't take the silence any longer he heard another familiar voice behind him.  
  
"Where am I?"  
  
Angel's eyes widened, and he spun around to see the confused boy standing behind the pair lying on the beach. Conner looked down at his biological father and took at step back. "What's going on?"  
  
"I forgive you!" were the first words out of Angel's mouth as he jumped up and rushed towards his son. "I forgive you. I love you so much! I'm glad you came back to me," Angel began to babble and pulled his son into a tight hug. Cordelia grinned, looking at them and merely shrugged when Conner looked at her with confusion on his face.  
  
With the combined efforts of Cordelia and Conner the pair managed to pull Angel out of us hug far enough for normal conversation. The vampire didn't bother to wipe the tears from his face and seemed to have forgotten the sunlight shining down on him as he gazed at his son with a goofy grin all over his face.  
  
Conner glanced around and asked the pair sitting before him, "What's going on?" before everything went black.  
  
Angel opened his eyes again and saw the walls of his metal prison. Another dream. 


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
Conner slowly opened his eyes. They darted around the darkened room and came to rest on the form slumped over in the armchair a few feet away from the lumpy bed he was in. The room was shabby, but still nicer the some of the ones he'd stayed in with her since they'd done the deed. His father lay at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean off the California coast, doomed forever because of him. It was getting more difficult to tell him constantly that the man had been evil. The man had murdered the only family he'd ever known.  
  
Justine jerked awake and saw him watching her. "You alright?"  
  
"Yeah. Just can't sleep."  
  
She looked at him for a moment before blinking her eyes at him, not believing what she saw. "Are you actually guilty? The guy was a vampire. Evil."  
  
He looked away and sat up, rubbing a hand over his face. "No. I don't think I'm feeling guilty," he lied, "I know he was - is - evil."  
  
"Good," she snapped, and rose out of the chair. "Let's see if we've got anything for breakfast this evening," she said in a happy manner, dismissing the previous conversation quickly out of hand. "We may be a little short on cash, but we do need to eat." She walked over to the small kitchenette and puttered around, searching for something resembling food.  
  
Conner slid out from under the covers and padded towards the bathroom, yawning. Closing the door behind him, he rubbed his eyes and looked into the mirror, scrounging around for some toothpaste. When he found the item his hand pulled back and the vividly remember the night his skin had torn there. The night he'd betrayed Angel. After a momentary pause, he looked up at the mirror, eyes wide, suddenly remembering last night's dream.  
  
"Justine," he started, as he yanked the door open, "Should we pull him back up when goes insane?"  
  
"What?!" she exclaimed, outraged at the idea, "I can't believe that you'd even suggest that to me!"  
  
He took a step backwards, away from her. "No, what I mean is." he started, thinking quickly, ".how can he properly suffer if he's insane?" Conner bit his lip, hoping that his stall hadn't been noticed.  
  
Justine, however, ignored the lapse and calmed a considerable amount. "No, he probably won't be suffering properly as you say, but he's evil and we can't let him back up here."  
  
"But-" "NO. That's all I have to say. End of discussion. Come eat," she said, gesturing at the assorted items scattered around the small table.  
  
Conner collapsed into the vacant chair and began to pick at his toast. Taking a sip from the water sitting next to the plate, he tried a different tactic. "I wish my father were here."  
  
"Angel is gone. You should think of him as dead."  
  
Conner shook his head. "I mean the man who raised me. My father."  
  
"Holtz is dead!" Justine leapt out of her chair and began to pace around the room. "He was a liar! My anger got the best of me but -"  
  
"YOUR anger?!" Conner looked up at her, his eyes a mixture of confusion and anger. "What happened to my father? Did Angelus kill him?"  
  
She abruptly stopped pacing. "Of course it was Angelus!" she said in a weakened voice. Sitting in her chair she looked him straight in the eye and coldly stated, "Angelus killed Holtz and I found him in the alley. You're a fool to think anything else."  
  
Conner stood and walked to the drawer and pulled out a clean shirt and began to change. Justine ate, pointedly ignoring his presence. When Conner slammed the drawer shut he jarred the dresser, causing a bundle of fabric to fall off of it. He leaned over to pick it up, but stopped, gasping at what he saw when he did. A small dagger had fallen out of the bundle onto the carpeted floor so softly that the boy had almost missed it. There was dried blood ominously covering the silver blade of the dagger.  
  
"What's this?" he asked the still form at the table. "Why do you have a bloody dagger?! Justine!"  
  
"It's none of your business, Stephen."  
  
"Yes it is!" he screamed, walking towards her. "We're supposed to be family! Family doesn't keep secrets about bloody daggers from each other." He paused, and quieted his voice slightly as he continued, "Whose blood is this?"  
  
She stood in anger, "It's not your business! It's my dagger, Conner. Don't question me."  
  
"Why not? It's not like you've ever told me anything. It's like when my father died - all I know is that Angelus did it."  
  
"Fine! You want to know whose blood I have here? Holtz's. Your so-called father. He was going to - "  
  
"I can't believe you! You try to be my friend - my FAMILY, but you murder my father in cold blood! How COULD you?" he screamed, cutting her off before she had a chance to explain.  
  
"Stephen, just listen to me!" she yelled, attempting to appeal to him.  
  
"No! You're just as bad as Angelus!" was his response before running out of the room into the dimmed light of dusk.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
Sighing, Wesley removed his glasses before rubbing the bridge of his nose. The latest assignment of his was horrid. He was trying to translate a copy of the Dewiusak Scroll, the entirety of which he had given to Fred and Gunn in the hotel twenty hours ago. He was still unsure of where that particular piece of goodwill had stemmed from; this was the same group that had betrayed him after he'd held the best interests of Angel's son in hand. He had long ago admitted to himself that the way he had gone about helping hadn't been the only option open to him, but there had not been enough time to get the group to model a plan and it had been unknown when the prophesy would come into effect. Or so he'd thought, before he'd realized that Wolfram and Hart had planted the prophesy in the hotel for him to translate, and now here he sat. In the office of one of the worst groups he'd ever known of, but there was no wish to leave. He had a place here and didn't have to deal with constant budding relationships.  
  
The day after that night with Lilah she'd come back to offer him a job, asking him to work for them. "It'll be handy to have a Watcher on staff," she'd coldly stated, "Who's worked for Angel Investigations." At that point he'd thrown her out, but over the next few days it had been impossible to tear his eyes or mind off of the small business card she'd left for him to use to call her office "when he came to his senses". When, not if. She'd seemed to know where his feelings of loneliness and disparagement would lead him, because she'd already had an office set up for him when he'd called, less than 72 hours after she'd placed the offer.  
  
So, now he sat, still alone. The only differences in his current life from life without either Angel or Lilah seemed to be the sex and the money. Still lonely, lost, and forgotten, much like the little boy version of himself that he'd thought was left broken and forgotten in London. Lilah was trying to get him to work indirectly on the Angel project without the group knowing of his involvement, but Wesley knew better. She'd tried to hide it, but he knew she was setting him up to use him as a secret weapon against his old employees.  
  
"How's the translation going?"  
  
Wesley was startled away from his thoughts at Lilah's entrance. "Well. Very well, I'd say," he sputtered, trying to regain his composure. "I'll probably have the first half of the translation put together by tomorrow's meeting."  
  
Lilah nodded, seemingly pleased with his work. The truth, however, was that she couldn't have cared less about his work to get back at Angel. The vampire had been missing for a month, but that wasn't knowledge that Wesley needed. What she was most interested in was breaking the vampire's former associate, just to prove she could do it. The sex was phenomenal too.  
  
"Good. I'll leave you for now, but I expect to see you at my apartment tonight," she said as she left the room.  
  
Wesley removed his glasses and put his head in his hands. This had been going on for too long. Gathering his materials, he pulled the door open a crack, seeing if anyone was beyond it. He stuck his head out into the hall when he didn't see anyone, and quickly stepped out of the room, softly closing the door behind him. It would have been useless to lock the door anyway, was his reasoning for leaving in unlocked. Almost running by the time he reached the lobby, he forced himself to slow down as he passed the security guard.  
  
"How's it going, Mr. Pryce?"  
  
"Good, but its Wyndham - Pryce."  
  
"Whichever. I'd say have a nice night, but I'm sure you will," the security guard added, winking to the man as he walked towards the front doors of the building, then out into early evening light.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
Dawn stepped out of her late mother's SUV and grinned up at the building before her. "This is just like the mansion! Only bigger! And with guestrooms," she said, staring up at the building when a bad hit her feet. "Which we're staying in I take it.  
  
"The rooms might be a little dusty, but that's alright! Cause you can take the drapes off the furniture and I know we've got some extra paint upstairs if you wanna paint your walls! We'll all help if you want, but you probably won't have time with all the people saving we'll be doing."  
  
Spike looked over at Fred, eyebrow raised. "Pet, sure you aren't a vampire? You don't seem to need to breath."  
  
Fred blushed slightly as Gunn called back to her from the doors, "Hey, should we open this place back up for business? You know we're gonna need the cash pretty soon here," at her affirmative nod he continued, "and, hey! We've got a whole gang here willing to help." He just grinned cockily at the outraged cries he'd heard as he tore the 'closed sign out from inside the door.  
  
"Including me." Everyone turned to find the source of the new voice. "That is, if you'll have me."  
  
Giles was first to regain his speak capacity, "W - Wesley?"  
  
Wesley stepped forward, quickly nodding to Giles before setting his gaze on Fred and Gunn, the pair standing in the doorway of the hotel's entrance. "Pease offering. You know who I work for, but you also know that I'm not on their side. Remember the envelope?"  
  
Gunn stepped foreword, shielding Fred behind him. "English. Why do you want to help us?"  
  
"Because Angel's not here to strangle me. Because I don't want to get sucked into always working for Wolfram and Hart. Because I liked working here. Take your pick, they're all correct."  
  
"Say we let you stay. How do we know you won't go and report our every move to Lilah?"  
  
"You could also tell her about the information I've already given you. That would be sure to get me killed if that's your goal."  
  
Buffy and Xander looked at each other, then into the quickly darkening sky. "However exciting this may be, I think we should move this little reunion back inside the hotel before we attract some unwanted attention," Buffy said.  
  
Fred nodded and opened the door wider while stepping into the hotel. The group slowly filed in, leaving Wesley and Gunn at the rear of the group, looking at one another. Wesley, taking another look at Gunn stepped into the hotel first, allowing Gunn to follow behind him. As the group situated themselves in their rooms before coming back downstairs to get a game plan for rescuing Angel put together, Gunn and Wesley sized each other up. Before they had a chance to speak, however, Spike started back down the stairs. The pair looked at him, unsure of what to expect from the vampire. He didn't bother to look at their tense forms, but instead set his sights upon the young woman in the office. Stepping towards the office door, he leaned against the frame and looked at her.  
  
"Hey, pet, can I talk with you for a few?"  
  
She looked up at him. "Sure." 


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Fred asked Spike as after they'd settled themselves in the courtyard.  
  
"How's the scroll coming?" he asked, avoiding the real reason for the conversation.  
  
Her eyes lit up a little at the topic, but dimmed again when she realized there weren't any developments worth mentioning. "Not good. With all of the searching for Angel there hasn't been time to translate it. I do know that there is a part that mentions a vampire with a soul, but it seems to be plural. I might be translating it wrong but -"  
  
"Plural you say? You mean, two souled vamps? It may not be wrong." Spike interrupted, but trailed off before he could explain his comments.  
  
"What do you mean? I only know of one. unless." she turned to look at him, her eyes searching his feature for any hint of recognition. ".you know of another?"  
  
"Can you keep a secret, pet?"  
  
She nodded enthusiastically, curious. "Of course! I'm great at keeping secrets."  
  
"Well, this one requires a little history. A couple years ago I realized I was in love with the slayer. After a. dramatic, I guess, relationship? Yea, that works better than anything else. anyways, she basically dumped me. Mind you, this is the billboard version, definently not the whole story. So I went off to see some shaman guy off in Africa, bloody awful place if you ask me, to get this chip out of my head. Now he put me through all sorts of trials before he told me I could get my prize of whatever. Now, I thought he was going to take this chip out of my head, but you know what he went and did? Gave me back my soul."  
  
Fred's eyes went wide. "W - What?"  
  
"You heard me, pet."  
  
"Why are you telling me? Why not Buffy? I heard that you were in love with her. I did hear that right, didn't I? 'Cause sometimes I hear things wrong and it's crazy chaos after that."  
  
"I was - am. But I can't tell her this! She'll think I went to do it to win her over, which I sort of did, but that's not the point. I've been trying to keep of the look of the Big Bad, but it's bloody hard. I'm slipping."  
  
"Do you feel it? The guilt, I mean."  
  
"Of course I feel the guilt! I've only spent the past month trying to get the Scooby gang to see me as I was, while I break down every night over the guilt of all the people I killed. Two slayers! I murdered two slayers in cold blood. They worked for good. Think of how many more vamps they could have killed, people that could have saved, if I hadn't killed them. China, then New York. It was horrible." He said, breaking down as he did. Laying his head on her lap, he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her warm body close, continuing to sob softly.  
  
"Hello? Anyone - anyone here?"  
  
Spike wiped his eyes and turned with Fred to see the boy enter the hotel lobby. Wesley and Gunn, who were previously sitting in the small office also turned to see the new member to the group. As Fred and Spike stepped back into the lobby, she let out a gasp.  
  
"Conner?"  
  
"Stephen."  
  
"Conner? Who're you?" came a voice from the stairs. The boy turned to see Giles walking down the stairs, curious as to the new addition to the small group gathered in the lobby. When no response came to his inquiry, the man looked from person to person in confusion. "What?"  
  
"Conner - uh, Stephen - is.uh.Wes?"  
  
"Conner is Angel and Darla's son," Wesley stated dismissively, eyes barely rising from the book sitting before him.  
  
There was a moment of silence in the lobby before the yelling started.  
  
"Angel and Darla are vampires! It is physically impossible for them to have children -"  
  
"The poof and DARLA? That bitch?"  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
A stunned silence rang throughout the lobby as three new forms emerged at the top of the stairs. Buffy hopped down the stairs, skipping half of them. Dawn and Xander followed at a slower rate, both shocked at the developments. Conner looked past Buffy and Xander, his eyes coming to rest on Dawn. She looked at him for a moment before smiling, causing him to drop his head with a blush. Dawn, however, was the only one to see it. She glanced at Buffy and saw that she was occupied and smiled goofily at Conner again, her grin widening as he saw and responded with a resonating grin.  
  
Buffy's voice was quick to pull them both back into the real world as she simply stated, "No."  
  
"Yes, I must agree with Buffy. This child appears to be sixteen years of age! He would have been ten when Angel first appeared in Sunnydale and staked Darla! We would have known of his existence," Giles's reasoning voice calmly stated, denying the proof sitting before him like a piece of meat on display.  
  
"Uh, guys -"  
  
"Yea, Buff, how can you accept that? The guy had a kid you didn't even know about? Talk about secret identity."  
  
"Hey, everyone, just listen -"  
  
"It only happened about nine months or so -"  
  
"I saw Angel stake Darla!"  
  
"Very dusty."  
  
"The bloody nancy boy had a kid! Slayer, you wanna -"  
  
"Shut up Spike. Darla carried at child for nine months?"  
  
"Guys! I -" Conner waved his arms in the air, trying to get someone's attention.  
  
"Yes, she staked herself to let the child live -"  
  
"Darla didn't have a bloody soul! Why didn't she kill the little bugger?"  
  
"Hey!" Guys -"  
  
"EVERYONE SHUT UP!"  
  
The group turned to see Dawn standing on the stairs waving her arms wildly in the air. She looked around at the people standing before her, slightly disgusted at their apparent lack of hearing capabilities. She pointed at Conner, "I think he'd like to say something if you guys don't mind."  
  
Conner looked at her and smiled in thanks. "I know about my heritage, my father was good enough to tell me about it. I was taken as a baby into Quor'toth, and raised by the man I considered my father for sixteen years, a man named Holtz -"  
  
"Bloody hell!"  
  
" - Who raised me to hate Angelus. I thought that Angelus had killed my father, but I learned a few hours ago that it wasn't my father, it was his former associate, Justine."  
  
"JUSTINE!" Wesley yelled, tearing foreword to confront the boy. He paused, containing his anger. "That does make sense.."  
  
"Holtz should have died 200 years ago!"  
  
The four others from Sunnydale just turned in confusion towards Spike's outraged form. The vampire sighed and began to explain. "Angelus and Darla used to tell me and Dru stories about their time before we were made," he began, "Holtz was one of their favorites. Never did find out what happened to the bugger."  
  
"Right," Gunn nodded, "But I think we'd better get a move on, or else we won't be able to rescue Angel tonight."  
  
Nobody noticed Willow's frail body swaying as it stood at the top of the stairs. She squinted, before crying out, "That's the guy from my dream!" and pointing down to Conner. "He was one of the ones putting Angel into that box!"  
  
Conner nervously fidgeted as everyone's eyes turned to him. Looking up at the redhead on the stairs, he opened his mouth to speak, but Gunn's fist cut him off. After punching the boy, Gunn pushed him against the ancient check - in counter and growled to him, "Talk."  
  
"Gladly," Conner squeaked, massaging his throat where Gunn had grabbed him. "I did help Justine put him in that box, but that was when I thought that Angelus had killed my father. Justine and I had. a falling out. She killed him."  
  
There was silence in the lobby of the ancient hotel when Lorne made his grand entrance in a bright orange suit that clashed beautifully with his green skin. "Well, what are we moping about? Now where'd that save Angelcakes brigade run off to?"  
  
"He's right," said Xander, walking to the doors. "Let's go save Deadboy!" Everyone just looked at him. "What?"  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
They'd had to pay a pretty penny - quite a few of them actually - to get a boat equipped with a crane at this hour, but they had been successful. The group was situated around the rising crane. This was their third try at raising the box that trapped Angel at the top of the ocean. The first time, they'd dredged up a metal barrel filled with some unknown material, and the second they'd pulled a waterlogged metal locker from the depths. However, with the information from both Willow, who was back at the hotel sleeping again with Lorne watching over her - "I don't do boats, toots" - and Conner, who was currently feeling the guilt of plunging his biological father to the bottom of the ocean for a month.  
  
"Here it comes guys," Buffy said, biting her lip as the metal cage came up over the surface. She turned to Conner. "Is that it?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Together, Xander and Gunn worked to pull the metal tomb onto the ship. Carefully running at torch along the edges, the separated one side of the metal to get a clear view of Angel. What they saw put them off. His hallow eyes darted everywhere, and his sunken cheeks attested to his month long fast. Conner looked in at him, wincing, while Buffy pushed Dawn back and covered her eyes, while the teenaged whimpered something about seeing him later anyways. Fred was the only one brave enough to kneel beside the box and quietly inquire, "Angel?"  
  
"no, no, no, no." he mumbled to himself, oblivious to the large group surrounding him.  
  
Xander walked back to the controls of the boat and, with Wesley's assistance, managed to turn it around and head back to the dock. Spike's eyes darted around nervously, sencing the sunrise approaching. "Hurry." he whispered to no one in particular. Giles gestured at Gunn and Spike to help him, and the trio managed to lift the catatonic vampire from the box before shoving back into the depths of the ocean.  
  
"Good riddance," Dawn mumbled as she saw the shell of Angel for the first time since his discovery moments ago.  
  
The group was drying Angel and wrapping him in blankets when Giles saw the boat off in the horizon. Not wanting to disturb the others, Giles tapped Wesley on the shoulders and pointed at the speedboat coming directly towards them. Wesley's face paled and his eyes widened after he'd squinted enough to recognize the logo on the side of the small speedboat. "Wolfram and Hart, damn!" he mumbled then looked towards the oblivious young man piloting the boat. "Go faster Xander." He didn't question the order as he did was Wesley had demanded.  
  
As they sped towards the shore, Wesley continuously glanced behind himself to the black speedboat. He sighed and looked down at the speedometer. They weren't going to make it. As the smaller boat caught up to them and matched their pace, Wesley stood on the side as Lilah looked straight at him.  
  
"You don't have anything we want," she began, "since the senior partners have this thing about not killing Angel. But let me tell you," she paused again, looking him straight in the eye, "you can't get rid of Wolfram and Hart, Wesley Wyndham - Pryce."  
  
The boat pulled away and sped ff in the opposite direction. Wesley, Gunn, and Fred stared out after it as Giles, Dawn, Conner, Xander, Buffy, and Spike looked to one another for some sort of an explanation that wasn't going to come. Angel shuddered and curled himself into a ball, babbling mindlessly all the while. 


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
The brigade tromped towards the hotel. Gunn and Buffy each had an arm supporting Angel, while Fred darted in front of them, ready to dash towards the kitchen to get him some fresh blood. Wesley had a perpetual frown on his face and walked alongside Giles with Xander hovering directly behind them. Every few moments he would glance backwards at Conner and Dawn, who glanced at each other shyly and attempted, rather successfully, to keep their hand holding unseen by Xander's worried glances in their direction. Spike, on the other hand was walking behind the pair and watching them with a frown showing distinct disapproval of the held hands.  
  
Fred was first to push through the double doors of the hotel and gasped when she did, immediately halting in her tracts. Because they were intent on managing Angel's large form, Buffy and Gunn didn't see her stop and walked Angel directly into her back. She stumbled, regained her balance, and took a few steps into the hotel, looking around the lobby to survey the damage. Gunn almost dropped Angel's left side when he shuffled into the lobby behind her, causing Buffy to grunt under the added weight.  
  
"Lorne? Willow?" came Fred's strangled cry. Hearing a groan, she darted towards the stairs, "Lorne," she tried again, looking down at the green demon, "What happened?"  
  
"Wolfram and Hart," he winced, grabbing his left side. "I know this won't kill me, but it hurts like hell." He glanced over to Angel as Buffy and Gunn deposited him on the couch. "You found him."  
  
Fred looked down. "Yea, but all he does is babble incoherently. It kinda scares me, ya know? Is Willow okay?" she stared at his as his gaze purposefully avoided her eyes. "Lorne?"  
  
"They took her. Wolfram and Hart's goons took her."  
  
Xander and Giles looked at each other. Giles took his glasses off and wiped them on his shirt, removing a nonexistent smudge. Looking past Fred, who was now sqatting in front of Lorne, to the demon, Xander marched forward and took him by the collar of his orange suit and shoves him against the wall of the stairs. Fred jumped up, outraged at his behavior, while Gunn yanked Xander back, causing Lorne to drop back down to the stairs with a grown.  
  
"Dude, it wasn't his fault!"  
  
"He let them take Willow!"  
  
"No he didn't! Right Lorne?"  
  
"Right," he croaked in agreement. He looked up at the pair's tense forms. "Calm down boys, you're flaring up so brightly, you're going to make me blind."  
  
Turning towards the members of the group from Sunnydale Gunn asked, "Do you guys know why they would have taken her?"  
  
"No. Actually, yeah. Maybe?" Gunn turned towards Buffy's confused chattering. "Let me just tell you, then you can answer that. About a month ago, she tried to destroy the world. She went all bad ass on the magic, and was taking power from everyone around her. We eventually got her off of it, but she's still recovering. Magic was like a drug for her."  
  
Wesley nodded in the background. "That makes sense," he mumbled, startling the group around him. They were all looking at him in confusion, so he sighed and continued, "They're going to try to turn her evil again. They did the same thing to Angel, but they used different methods with him."  
  
"So, what do we do now?"  
  
"Fred, can you hack into Wolfram and Hart again and see if you can find anything out about Willow?" asked Lorne.  
  
"I have access codes," Wesley stated. "They'll probably only work once and they'll know that we were there, but if you can't get in, I've got them."  
  
"Right. Let's get this place sorted out then."  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
Angel's eyes opened and he saw the lobby of the hotel. Glancing around him, he saw Cordelia sitting on the former check in counter, watching him. When she saw him looking at her she hopped off the counter and paced towards him. His eyes widened when he saw her movement and he scuttled back to hide in the corner by the weapon's cabinet. Seeing his movement she stopped, sighing, and rolled her eyes.  
  
"Angel," she started, "I'm not going to hurt you."  
  
His only response was to whimper and hide his face in his arms.  
  
The woman stepped forward and squatted before him. "Angel, listen to me." He raised his head up and her heart almost broke when she saw his red, teary eyes. "You need to be strong. Pull yourself together." He shook his head in silence, placing it back in his arms. She continued, "I'm sorry I didn't make our meeting."  
  
His head snapped up at this unexpected tidbit. "I was there, but Conner and Justine." he trailed off as tears began running down his face. He pulled away from her and started to rock as he chanted his next words, like a mantra, "Dark, dark. So dark. I didn't mean to leave, they trapped me. I'm sorry.so sorry.." His teary commentary was cut off completely as he began sobbing. "So sorry, Cordy.."  
  
"What the hell did you do to him?"  
  
Cordelia didn't bother to turn when she heard the new voice; the recognition was instantaneous. "Buffy. I was wondering when you'd join us."  
  
"What are you doing here, Cordelia?" Buffy looked from Cordelia to the sobbing vampire, and back to Cordelia again, with a new angry glint in her eyes. "Why is he like that? What's going on?"  
  
"One thing at a time bucko," Cordelia began, standing and taking a few steps towards Buffy's still form perched on the lowest stair. "To begin, you're dreaming."  
  
Buffy stared at her, then blinked thoughtfully. "That explains HOW you're here, but not WHY you're here. Or why he's acting like that," she said, gesturing wildly towards Angel. "What's wrong with him!"  
  
"He's been at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean off the California coast for a month. That's enough to make anyone a little crazy, don't you think?"  
  
The blonde shook her head. "What's going on Cordelia?"  
  
"I can only tell you pieces. The only way I can talk to anyone on this plane is through their dreams."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I know it's temporary, but I can't explain it."  
  
"But -"  
  
"I know, I know, but I really can't. Move on now."  
  
"Now just wait one moment! I don't want to move on!"  
  
"You don't have a choice, Slayer." Both girls turned as they heard the voices. It sounded as if ten people were talking over one other, but all trying to say the same thing.  
  
"Who are you?" Buffy asked, glancing around the room for the source of the voices.  
  
"It asks our name," the voices whispered. "It is not worthy."  
  
"What's with the 'It' bit here! I'm the Slayer, and I want to know who the hell you are." Buffy was yelling now. Her darting gaze came to rest on Cordelia's still form, now resting against the lobby's couch. "What's going on, Cordelia. Who are these people."  
  
"Uh. I'm not really sure if they're people. They're not important. Anyways, moving on again -" Cordelia started, but stopped as Buffy began to fade out. "Dammit, I hate it when that happens!"  
  
"What's going on Cordy?" Buffy asked, panicked. She was looking at her hands, which were now oddly transparent.  
  
Cordelia sighed. "You're waking -"  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
Buffy gasped, sitting upright in her bed. She glanced around the dark room, not sure of her surroundings. As she spotted her suitcase in the corner, all of the events of the past two days flooded back into her mind. The arrival of Fred and Gunn in Sunnydale, the trip to LA, the arrival of Wesley and Conner, and the rescue of Angel all stood clear in her mind. Shaking her head she grabbed for the notebook sitting beside her bed and began to record her dream to tell the others when they woke in a few hours. Something weird was definitely up.  
  
--------------  
  
A/N: Wow, I know that was a little short, but writer's block just reared it's ugly. block at me. I know how the story's gonna go, I just couldn't figure out how to write it. Wish me luck on getting rid of this beast.. 


	8. CHapter Eight

Chapter Eight  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
Buffy stepped out into the lobby of the Hyperion Hotel clad in her nightclothes. It was about ten in the morning, and she planned on getting some errands taken care of before Angel woke. Stepping into the small office, she was startled to find Wesley slumped over the desk, grumbling softly into the phone. He was still wearing his clothes from the night before, minus his wire-framed glasses, which currently sat on the desk atop several crumbled sheets of yellowed parchment. As Buffy stepped closer to get a better look at the fading calligraphy on the parchment Wesley slammed the phone down growl, causing her to jump back into the doorway. The noise startled Wesley who immediately jumped up, tripped over the chair that was spun sideways by his sudden movement, and landed in a heap on the floor.  
  
She winced, and took a few steps foreword to stretch a hand out to help he back to his feet. Glaring at her, he climbed to his feet without her aid and picked an invisible piece of lint off his shirt. His gaze narrowed as he took in her appearance.  
  
"What do you want, Buffy?"  
  
"What're you doing down here?"  
  
"Working. Did you have any reason for bothering me down here?"  
  
"Oh, yeah, right. I was looking for Giles, has he been up?"  
  
"Haven't seen him. If anyone asks, I'll be back in an hour," Wesley stated as he walked towards the door. As he opened it, he turned back to her confused expression. "Goodbye. I think Giles was in 357."  
  
She nodded to herself as the door shut softly behind him. "Right." Turning back to the stairs, she began to trudge up them but stopped when she saw Spike marching down the stairs. Rolling her eyes, she asked, "What are you doing?"  
  
"Good morning cutie!" He exclaimed, throwing his arms open with false enthusiasm. When he stopped at the bottom of the stairs she still stood with her weight on one leg and her arms crossed. His shoulders drooped a little and he asked, genuinely hurt, "What, no good morning kiss?"  
  
"Again, I ask, what are you doing Spike?"  
  
"Greeting the day! It's such a wonderful day," he chucked as he skipped towards the office. With one last glance he stepped inside and slammed the door shut, locking it behind him.  
  
Buffy looked after Spike for a moment before shaking her head. This was turning into quite the morning. Lacking her original enthusiasm, she stepped towards the stairs, intent on finding Giles, only to be stalled once again by Xander bounding down the stairs, directly followed by Lorne's less animated form. Forgetting about her objective to find Giles for the moment, Buffy dropped her arms to her sides and strode over to them.  
  
Glancing at Lorne and looking Xander in the eye, she gently probed, "Willow?" Xander grinned and opened his mouth to answer, but Buffy cut him off. "Cause I know I went to sleep early last night, but I have quite the story for you because of it-"  
  
"We got something on her Buff," Xander started, cutting her off. "Apparently she's being kept under lock and key - the magical kind, that is. They want her to finish healing or something before they do their thing. I think their exact phrase was something like 'don't want to mess up the product'."  
  
She nodded, thoughtfully. While it was great that the law firm hadn't tried to use Willow for their own evil purposes yet, they still had her. The three were startled when they heard an angry roar from upstairs, and only paused to glance at each other before dashing towards Angel's room. When they reached the doorway, Buffy saw a sight that would be forever etched in her nightmares. Angel was thrashing around his bed, barely held down by Gunn and Giles. Conner stood slightly out of the way rummaging though a chest, looking for some sort of restraints. Her hand covered the cry that came out of her mouth when she began to comprehend his cries.  
  
"CORDY!" she heard him yell. "No, no, no, no, NO!" he screamed again, throwing Gunn and Giles off as he vamped out and rushed the doorway. Pushing Buffy to the ground as he ran out of the room, he ran towards the stairs at the end of the hall mumbling, "Cordy, no, cordy, come back!" all the while.  
  
Buffy glanced over to Conner, searching for restraints, and took off down the hall after him. As she ran she saw him speeding towards the staircase and did the only thing she could think of - leapt at him.  
  
When she collided with him in midair she hadn't realized how close to the edge they were. She grabbed onto his shirt as they tumbled head over heals all the way down the flight of stairs, to land at a crumpled heap at the bottom. Angel clung to her, his form folded around her like a second skin, as he sobbed all over her pajamas. Buffy just rubbed her head with her free hand and looked up to the crowd gathered at the top of the stairs who looked back down at her.  
  
The door to the office was yanked open when the occupants heard the crash. Everyone's eyes widened as they saw Spike exit the room with Fred in tow.  
  
Gunn stepped foreword, anger marring his features. "Fred? What're you doin, gal!"  
  
"Calm down Charles. We were just doing some research."  
  
"But when did you go down there?"  
  
"When you all were checking on Angel. I popped in, but ya'll looked like ya had it in control."  
  
"But - "  
  
"Not now," Buffy said, cutting into the argument before it started. "First we have to get Angel back upstairs."  
  
"Buffy?" came a sleepy voice from the top of the staircase the others had just decended. The girl took in the sight before her and her eyes widened. "What's going on?"  
  
"Uh, Dawn."  
  
"Hey! Lil'bit!"  
  
The girl grinned. "Hey, Spike."  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
Cordelia paced across the bright room in frustration. "How can I get them to listen to me!" she murmured, ignoring the door's opening and shutting softly behind her. "Every time I get close to explaining to them, or helping to understand they go off and WAKE UP!" she continued, her voice getting progressively louder as she finished her statement in an explosive outburst of violence, throwing a wooden stool against the white wall to see it shatter in pieces. It did nothing to dim her anger. She continued pacing and mumbling to herself, oblivious to the two new members in the room. Hearing a voice clear she turned and yelled, "What!" in her patented Queen C voice.  
  
"They want to see you," was all that was said by the two bodies before they bowed and filed themselves out of the room.  
  
Looking up into the sky she asked, "Why me?" before pausing to mentally question her actions. She looked back down and shook her head, realizing that she was already up where she was rhetorically looking. Sighing, she opened the door. There was a meeting to attend, if what these beings did could be called meeting. It was more, someone talks to you without you seeing their forms. Stepping out into the hall, she remembered to look both ways before turning left and disappearing around a corridor, towards the Voice Room.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
Willow sat in the corner of the room, staring at her damp knees. Her shirt was torn the stained with her own blood while her cheeks were streaked with tear tracks. Hearing a noise at the only entrance to the room she looked up, then curled herself back into a ball when she recognized the face in the doorway.  
  
"Willow," he said, "Glad to see you awake finally."  
  
She curled her body into a tighter circle and turned to press herself into the wall. Gavin smiled evilly. This girl was defiantly worth the trouble that had been gone through to get her here. The wizards Wolfram and Hart had called upon had told him of her power - what she'd already held and what she had the potential to hold. His smile widened when he saw the anger in her eyes. This one had promise. 


End file.
